1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cleaning spills of toxic or hazardous materials, such as oil, antifreeze, gasoline and the like, and more particularly to a process of cleaning such spills on bodies of water, garage floors, and roadways. Further the invention relates to absorbent composition particles for absorbing toxic or hazardous material spills and to an absorbent sock or boom for absorbing spills and containing the area of spills.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Spills of petroleum, crude oil, fuel oil, and the like from ships present a serious water pollution problem as is illustrated by the oil spill disaster from a super-tanker in Valdez, Ak. in 1989.
The known techniques for containing and removing an oil slick from a body of water have proven to be unsatisfactory in many cases. For example, dispersants and detergents have an ecological drawback, and various absorbent materials used to sink the oil to the bottom of the ocean are also ecologically undesirable. Another known technique of removing the oil by igniting the oil slick is dangerous.
Further, due to logistics, many of the widely used techniques for containing an oil spill and for absorbing the spilled oil may not be put into use for up to five hours or more after an oil spill disaster occurs because the spill containing or removing apparatus may not arrive in time.
Similarly, spills of oil, antifreeze, gasoline, and other toxic or hazardous materials may occur from trucks transporting these materials, or in garages, or machine shops, or refineries, and such spills present safety, health and ecological problems, and they all present clean-up problems.